like president lincoln before him, president obama listed a series of things that we all take for granted today that the constitution did not provide for. such as a huge standing army, the biggest one in the world. we have shown you before on this program how much modern day republicans disagree with their hero, ronald reagan on everything from tax increases to death ceiling increases to banning assault weapons. the only thing they claim to admire as much as him, is the first president, lincoln, if they heard lincoln say this in the first inaugural address they would have booed him. "no organic law can ever be framed with the provision applicable to every situation. no foresight can anticipate nor any document of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions.

that is abraham lincoln calling the constitution organic law. and saying that the constitution could not possibly have anticipated our every governing question. i invite you to imagine if you will, just close your eyes and just imagine the right wing . .

welcome to "the ed show" from new york. the conservatives are whining about president obama's speech. it's just too liberal. i say welcome to the mainstream. let's get to work. >> it's morning again in america. >> the era of liberalism is back. >> the country is awake to the new center left america, and conservative elites can't stand it. >> the republican agenda in his mind props up white privilege. >> tonight katrina vanden heuvel on president obama and the official end of the reagan era. none of it means anything if the obama agenda can't get through the senate. senator jeff merkley of oregon is here with the latest breaking news on filibuster reform. plus one of the best golfers in the world is losing it over his tax rate. >> of all the nerve! >> we'll fact check phil

mickelson's ridiculous claim. >> i owe you nothing! and banks got bailed a out and we got sold out. four years after wall street greed brought the country to its knees, why is no one in jail? >> this is a stain on the american justice system. >> the pbs series "frontline" has a new documentary airing tonight. correspondent martin smith joins me for a preview. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. i want to start the program tonight showing you what the hottest thing in politics was 20 years ago today. this is rush limbaugh's first book, the way things ought to be. for more than two decades, this basically has served as a blueprint for conservative thought in this country. here is a sample of a few things that were in the book. what about feeling sorry for those who pay the taxes? those who are people that no one feels sorry for. they are asked to give and give

until they have no more to give. and when they say enough, they are called selfish. of course, it's also filled with deliberately offensive material as well, like this quote. i love the women's movement, especially when i'm walking behind it. limbaugh was so influential, the republican congress named him an honorary member after the 1994 election. >> the people that listen to ten hours of talk radio a week or more voted republican by a three-two-one margin. those are the people that elected the new congress. that's why this is the limbaugh congress. >> as of today, i think we can finally put this book where it belongs in history. right there. the american people have put the brakes on the conservative train that has run over a lot of people in this country. president obama has laid down a different track for america. the president's inauguration yesterday served as proof of a real movement in this country.

we are a society now of tolerance, fairness, and acceptance. the country is not afraid of progressive values, or to say the word, liberal, because most of the country believes in progressive liberal values. a majority of americans believe gay marriage should be legal. most people don't want any cuts whatsoever to social security. even more people want medicare left alone. only 33% want to protect defense spending. on immigration, the majority believes, well, the path for citizenship for undocumented immigrants. on climate change, we weren't even talking about that 20 years ago. nearly half of this country believed the problem is man-made. only 24% say it is not. most americans recognize the shift in our national mind-set. president obama's speech showed an evolving america, i think. those who do not want to come

along, i guess they're going to be left behind. >> first, it was the most partisan and divisive inaugural address in living memory. now, there was the veneer of unity and common purpose. but it's always unity and common purpose as a means to an end. and in the end what obama defines is advancing his own left wing agenda. >> actually, the president was advancing the agenda of the majority of people in this country who voted in the 2012 election. another guy who doesn't get all of this is a guy named karl rove. his superpac released a webb ad today trying to scare people about a liberal boogie man. >> some are calling the president's address the most liberal he has delivered. >> i think the most liberal speech barack obama has ever given. >> much more radical than the speech he gave four years ago. >> he doesn't have to stand for reelection again. >> this is clearly a president who is not running for reelection. >> unapologetically liberal. >> congressman paul ryan is a guy who believes the country is

made up of makers and takers. that's what he said. it's no surprise he didn't like the president's speech. >> the president is a proud and confident liberal progressive. he invoked the constitution and the declaration at times, which are something that everybody likes to hear, especially conservatives. but he invoked them as a means to sort of legitimize the agenda that he has going forward, which was fairly partisan, very ideological for sure, and, you know, it didn't surprise me that he did that, because he is basically saying i'm a liberal, and i'm going to govern as a liberal, and i won. so there. >> the mayor of cable tv believes it's proof that america will be torn apart. >> rather than focusing on america's problems like exploding debt and a weak economy, mr. obama put forth that the nation's top priority must be impose social justice. so it is quite clear that the president is willing to go down in history as a crusader for

social justice, no matter what happens to the economic fabric of the country. >> you know, i think all these conservatives are forgetting about another president who transformed the country, and he is i think one of their favorites, ronald reagan. remember that guy? inherited a population deeply unhappy with the direction of the country and the economy. he established mainstream conservative government. by his second inauguration, a majority of the country believed in his message. >> we ask things of government that government was not equipped to give. we yielded authority to the national government that property belonged to states or to local governments or to the people themselves. we allowed taxes and inflation to rob us of our earnings and savings, and watched the great industrial machine that had made us the most productive people on earth slow down and the number of unemployed increase. >> times change. a nation and its people evolve.

the philosophy president obama promoted when he ran for president in 2008 is now mainstream political thinking in this country. >> that's the promise of america. the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation. the fundamental belief that i am my brother's keeper, i am my sister's keeper. that's the promise we need to keep. that's the change we need right now. >> if president obama has anything to say about it, we will remain our brother's keeper for the next four years. it is not only the way things ought to be, it's the way things are. let me go back into the trash can here and tell a story about rush limbaugh. oh, let's get it correctly. not upside down, of course. this was hot 20 years ago. and since then, they got the microphone. the telecommunications bill came down, and now you can have 500 people across the country saying the same things rush limbaugh says every day. how come they didn't win the presidency? how come they don't own the

senate? why did they have to gerrymander all these districts to have to hang on to the house? and why in our broadcast tonight are we talking about the electoral college being shifted in several states because this guy has been so successful. no question about it, very talented, good businessman. but idealogically, two-in-one show, rush. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, is the united states a center-left country? text a for yes. text b for no to 622639. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on tonight. joining me tonight katrina vanden heuvel. good to have you. >> thank you very much. >> the president's speech. how did it hit you? >> i thought it was one of the most forthright in defense of progressive government and in defense of community, in defense of programs that have made this

a more decent country for millions of people. and i like how he was combative in rebuking conservative ideas. for example, that social insurance programs like medicare, medicaid and social security make us a nation not of risk-takers, but of dependents. i also love to have to say, because you were talking about ronald reagan, he reclaimed the idea of freedom from a market worshipping right wing, government despising right wing. and i think in doing so, he did an important service for the center left emerging majority. >> was ate benchmark turning point for america, or was it an exclamation point of everything that has transpired in this country? i mean we went through the clinton years. we had economic growth. we went through the bush years. we had exploding deficits, international intervention that

we're still paying a price for. and of course, wall street running wild. and now this president gathers the economy and what he has done over the last 35 months of private sector job growth. but was the president's speech proof positive that the mainstream in america is left of center? >> i think we've seen the left center emerge over the last years, ed, but too often the media doesn't pay attention to it. survey after survey shows americans want to see defense cut instead of social programs. they want to see higher taxes on the very rich as opposed to cuts in social programs. that majority, that view has been there. and i think president obama, with the wind at his back of a rising american majority, of a new coalition in this country has seized that energy and is moving with it and understands in the speech he spoke of we, we the citizens invoking the greatest documents of our

founding, saying you must participate in order to do that. but here is one thing, ed. you know, this country has been confronted with the politics of cycles. in some ways, the politics of the 20th century into the 21st century has been the unending struggle between the forces of the right and reaganism and the forces of roosevelt, the great society, a progressive majority. and i think the democrats need to understand that they need to be closer to main street than to wall street. and that when they don't defend the interests of the ordinary, average common american that they're letting slip away the power to shape a new coalition. >> when you look at gay rights, when you look at immigration reform, which the republicans and the conservatives have rejected, when you look at the economy of income inequality in this country, has conservatism been rejected? >> conservatism has been rejected. and even more broadly, ed, conservatism has degenerated into an extremism that is out of touch with the changing realities of the this country. for example, a radical individualism which a paul ryan

stands for is out of touch with the needs of a great country, which needs investment, which needs community. and i think we're seeing a republican party in full disarray that doesn't let the democratic party off the hook. it needs to speak to the inequality in this country, which president obama is beginning to move toward. but when 93% of the national growth goes to 1% of the americans, that is not a healthy economy. and i do think it's incumbent upon us. and i think it's important to note that rush limbaugh, who very happily, his hucksterism and demagoguery has been put into the dustbin of history here, fox is in a delusional time warp and it is trending downwards. but it is incumbent on the media to laser-like understand that joblessness, not deficit and debt, is the major crisis of our time. that inequality is and the corporate power, which you well know, ed, remains a force, even while the great social movements of our time, from seneca falls, the women's rights movement, to selma, the civil rights

movement, to stonewall, the great inclusion of gay rights, the gay rights movement. those are critical. but we also have a political system that is too controlled by corporate power, and that is the fight of the 21st century. >> all right. katrina vanden heuvel. great to have you with us on the program tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. remember, to answer tonight's question. share your thoughts with us on twitter at edshow and on facebook. we want to know what you think. coming up, the aggressive agenda american support, it isn't going to amount to anything if we can't get a meaningful filibuster reform to take place in the senate. the latest developments with senator jeff merkley, who joins me next. stay with us. [ dad ] find it? ya. alright, another one just like that. right in the old bucket. good toss! see that's much better! that was good. you had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. let's do it again -- watch me. just like that one... [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. pass down something he will be grateful for.

good arm. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ back to you. ♪ ♪ it was the best day ♪ ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [sigh] [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors -- we make a great pair. right, totally, uh... that's what i was thinking. covering the things that make the outdoors great. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

coming up, president obama lays out the aggressive agenda for his second term. i'll ask congresswoman jan schakowsky how democrats will carry out the president's plans. and more than four years after the financial crisis, these big banks have taken us to the cleaners. bank ceos have not been held

accountable. "frontline's" martin smith looked at how big banks got away with fraud. don't forget to listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. share your thoughts with us on twitter and on facebook as well using the hash tag the edshow. we're coming right back. it's a new day. if your a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer;

worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. >> welcome back to "the ed show." everything we just talked about before the break, the progressive causes supported by the american people and articulated by president obama in his speech yesterday to

amount to really nothing if we don't get meaningful filibuster reform in the senate. and, of course, reform, we're being told tonight, is not dead. here is senate minority leader -- majority leader harry reid. >> i've had some positive meetings with senator mcconnell before the recess, during the recess our staffs worked on this. we had another meeting today. and i hope within the next 24 to 36 hours we can get something that we agree on. if not, we're going to move forward on what i think needs to be done. the caucus will support me on that. >> so if you don't get agreement, does that mean you'll move forward with the 51 vote? >> yes. >> reid is willing to move forward with filibuster reform with only 51 votes. an option called poisonous by republicans, which is amazing when you think about it. meaningful filibuster reform would bring back the talking filibuster. if republicans wanted to block a simple up or down vote on a bill, they would have to hold the floor, just like the old days. the 60-vote super majority filibuster has been abused by republicans like never before in history. this chart shows just how much the filibuster has been used from 1917 to 2012. the huge spike came in 2008 when president obama took office. republicans have broken the

spirit of statesmanship in this country with the use of the filibuster. progressives should be very concerned. frankly, about the potentially watered down filibuster reform being negotiated between harry reid and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. under one option being reported, the minority party, the republicans in this case would have to come up with 41 votes to stop a bill or nominee. instead of the current system, where the burden is on the majority party to gather 60 votes to advance an issue. let's turn to senator jeff merkley of oregon, a co-sponsor of meaningful filibuster reform. senator, good to have you with us tonight. >> great to be with you, ed. >> give us an update. where are we at this hour? what can you tell us? >> well, as leader reid talked, he is pursuing both options, the path of 51 and the path of working out a deal with mcconnell. and i can tell you, it's so relevant what happened

yesterday. the president stood on the steps of the capitol right behind me, and he said the time to act is now. and it kind of brought back the fierce urgency of now language from a few years ago. and that is completely inconsistent with a paralyzed senate. and so as we discussed among my colleagues at lunch today, we need the boldest possible reform. and i think we're going to get that through the option of going with 51. not through the option of working out a deal with mcconnell. >> so you think that you're going to get what you want, the talking filibuster. i mean, there is not going to be anymore silent filibuster. senate majority leader harry reid has been clearly reluctant to adopt your version of talking filibuster reform. >> yes. it's a gold standard. folks vote, they have to make their case before their colleagues, before their citizens. take responsibility. are they heroes or are they bums? often the feedback we anticipate from citizens will help us get

cloture for debate and be able to move forward. it's not clear that that will be included under either option. but this the balance of the pieces, and many are pieces i've advocated for, including getting rid of it, going to conference committee, it's a much stronger construction under the package that senator reid is putting together for the 51 vote option. >> well, this is why as you well know, senator, but i think the american people, we need to gather this. because the table, or should we say that the level of conversation that is coming from the minority party right now about possible obstruction is alive and well. here is senate minority leader mitch mcconnell earlier today. >> one thing is pretty clear from the president's speech yesterday. the era of liberalism is back. and unabashedly far left of center inauguration speech.

if the president pursues that kind of agenda, obviously, it's not designed to bring us together. >> senator, the republicans are in denial. all the big issues out there, they poll in the minority. they're not with the majority of americans on issues. so won't mitch mcconnell abuse the filibuster again if this isn't changed? that sound bite, shouldn't that be a wake-up call, all the democrats in caucus? >> oh, i fully anticipate that he'll use every tool at his hands. every tool available, if you will. and it's why he so fiercely opposes the talking filibuster, because then he couldn't kill bills in secret. the disclose act on the floor widely supported. get rid of secrecy in campaign donations. they filibustered it. but not with anyone making the case on the floor or before the american people. >> was the complete silent objection, no accountability, no transparency. and the result is we still have this huge secret pools of funds that are corrupting our political system. and it's bill after bill.

it's jobs bills. it's getting rid of loopholes for oil companies. it's a whole series of things. >> so if these rules are changed, as poisonous as the republicans claim they are, will president obama be able to have a successful second term? will he be able to get to climate change? will he be able to get to immigration reform without the republicans getting in the way? >> well, i think under -- there is no magic set of rule changes. but if we go with the 51 vote option, with the most robust form, it certainly puts us in a much better position because there will be accountability before the public. as you said, the public is with us. they want to end the war in afghanistan. they want to create jobs. they absolutely would love to see us get rid of secret campaign donations, and so on and so forth. >> senator jeff merkley, great to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. coming up, president obama's inaugural address laid out the case for change on a number of important issues.

congresswoman jan schakowsky is here to tell us what has to be done in president obama's second term. what is the priority list? then rigging the next presidential election? find out what the republicans did during the inauguration yesterday in the state of virginia. i'll show you why they're getting criticized by members of their own party. stay tuned. we're right back. [ male announcer ] there's a story behind the silver of philadelphia cream cheese. it always begins with fresh, local milk, blended with real wholesome cream. going fresh from the farm, to our fridge, in just six days. because we believe in fresh taste. that's the way we set the standard for intensely rich, luscious flavor. so our story of fresh taste always ends... deliciously. when it comes to taste, philadelphia sets the standard. if we took the already great sentra apart and completely reimagined it with best-in-class combined mpg and more interior room than corolla and civic

and a technology suite with bluetooth, navigation, and other handy stuff? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan sentra. it's our most innovative sentra ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $169 per month lease on a new nissan sentra, plus $500 bonus cash. ♪ like say, gas station sushi. cheap is good. and sushi, good. but cheap sushi, not so good. it's like that super-low rate on not enough car insurance. pretty sketchy. ♪ and then there are the good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor tool helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ] without feeling queasy. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call.

welcome back to "the ed show." following a historic inauguration day, the president has the political capital to set his agenda and get things done in his second term. the president's inaugural address set the stage for action on a number of critical issues, from climate change to immigration reform. he stressed the importance of protecting the middle class, and said now is the time to act. >> for now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. we cannot mistake absolutism for principle or institute spectacle for politics or treat

name-calling as reasoned debate. we must act. we must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. >> right now president obama has the chance to set a clear course and ask you for help. he has an opportunity to create a vision of goals for the american people to embrace and demand. there is more to do on health care. there is more to do on a number of issues. there are still the republican governors out there refusing to expand medicaid. there are still ways to improve obama care, like adding a public option. then there is immigration. the president has been tougher on undocumented immigrants than any of his modern-day predecessors. but he has issued a clear call for national resolve to realize the full potential of the dreamers.

and never deny a path to citizenship for those who want to pledge of allegiance to our flag and be a part of our society and our country. the president can bring new taxpayers into the system and who will enrich our technology sector, no question about it, strengthen our manufacturing base. and these folks will become americans and serve in our military. now on tax reform, this president has got to move forward with his most basic message and still firmly in place, and that is the middle class must be protected. the big three must be protected. strengthen and celebrate it because it's the bedrock of our country's success. on education, the president of the united states has an opportunity to strengthen our classrooms and recommit to public education in this country, our teachers, so we can compete in a global market. now, for the republicans, they have vilified all of these institutions. they think that tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation is exactly how we should run the

country, and that's it. president obama actually accomplished a heck of a lot in his first term. but there is so much more he can do on a number of important issues facing our country in the second term. we are a center-left country. we are progressive. progressives are in the majority. we have to think like that as a movement. we have to think like that as a people. and the chatter across the street, we learned one thing about those folks during the 2012 election. they lie. they do a pretty good job of it. so when we start going down the road of immigration reform and climate change and fair taxation and public education, we'll get plenty of lies from the right, because they're damn good at it. but we have the majority on our side. and president obama knows it. and he has set a course for us to grab the jugular and get after it. for more on this, let's turn to congresswoman jan schakowsky of illinois. congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight.

>> thanks, ed. >> where do i don't think the focus needs to be in the wake of what the president laid out yesterday, and of course the state of the union coming up in the early in this 113th. where does the focus have to be? >> you know, the president called not just -- you were talking about the dreamers, today's dreamers. but he also talked about our founding dreamers. and the mainstream principles that they set forward, hoping that they would take hold of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, all men and women are created equal, these are centrist ideas. i was on fox earlier today, and they did this whole thing about this left wing agenda. i said excuse me, i think the president was exactly in the center of the country. the vast majority of americans want to protect social security and medicare, the middle class, and help to raise up the poor, to create good jobs, jobs of the 21st century, and ask the wealthiest americans to pay a bit more.

you know, they use the word liberal still again as some sort of epithet, a nasty word. but the american people chose president obama again because he is speaking to the needs of the majority of people. >> what kind of damage would the republicans do to themselves if they went down the road of obstruction again? i mean, if the 113th starts to shape up like the 112? >> well, they're already less popular than a root canal. slightly more popular than gonorrhea, according to a recent poll. >> so what does that tell the democrats right there? what you just said, they are not with the mainstream right now. >> no they are not. >> how aggressive do the dems have to be? >> i think we have to be perfectly clear. for example, my hope is when they want to do another gimmicky kind of increase in the debt ceiling, just three months, and if a budget doesn't pass, then members of congress can't get

any pay, their pay is held up, i think that we ought to ask them, then, to put up all the votes, i mean enough votes to pass the bill, to see if their members, who have pledged not to raise the debt ceiling, who said they wouldn't do it unless there were deep cuts for every dollar, for every dollar that the debt ceiling was raised, a dollar in cuts. >> sure. >> let's see what they do tomorrow. >> congresswoman jan schakowsky, thanks for joining us tonight. appreciate it so much there a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. >> this is our generation's rendezvous with destiny. >> republicans can't win elections with their policies. so rights in the gang are hard at work rigging the electoral college system. the latest stunner from virginia is next. >> he's had it with taxes. he says he's going to take drastic action. he says he's had enough. >> legendary golfer phil mickelson is complaining about his new tax rates.

we'll tell you why he should stick to golf. and the pbs series "frontline" is out with a new documentary about a lack of accountability on wall street. >> in the due diligence world, fraud was the "f" word. you can't use that word. >> correspondent martin smith is here tonight with a preview. what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go...

we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office.

welcome back to "the ed show." republicans can't win a presidential election with their ideas, so they're just trying to rig the vote instead. republicans in virginia, pennsylvania, and michigan want to change the way they award electoral votes. but they aren't trying to improve the system. they only want to change the electoral process for some people. gop chairman reince priebus said last week i think it's something a lot of states have been consistently blue, that are fully controlled red ought to be

looking at. states like north dakota, kansas and idaho don't need to worry about changing their electoral laws. the republicans really want these states. they went for president obama in 2012. but they're controlled by republican governors and legislatures. changing the law in these states would have won 45 more electoral votes, electoral college votes for mitt romney. now, it wouldn't have been enough for him to beat president obama in 2012, but what about the next democrat? republicans, what are they doing? they're already scheming. in fact, they use the president's inauguration to get ahead in 2016. that's right, just yesterday while virginia state senator henry marsh attended the inauguration, virginia republicans realized they outnumber democrats by one vote. they ambushed the dems with a massive redistricting bill.

republican governor bob mcdonnell says he doesn't like the dirty tricks, but he won't promise to veto it. >> obviously, the tactics that were used yesterday was a surprise, and i don't think that that's the way business should be done. but i haven't looked at the bill. >> oh, i bet you haven't. michigan's republican governor rick snyder might support a similar election scheme in his state. snyder thinks real locating electoral votes could be done in a thoughtful way. nothing about this is thoughtful. it's strategic. this isn't about fixing a broken system. it's about republicans giving their party an edge in 2016. i'm joined tonight for the conversation by joan walsh, editor at large for the salon and also bob shrum. great to have you both with us tonight. joan, what do you make of this? is this a policy surrender by republicans, they have to do this to win? >> yeah that. >> know they are on a course of demographic extinction, ed. 90% of their voters are white.

their voters are older. and rather than change their policies and think about how to really reach the new america that is emerging, they decided they're going to change the voter, not change the policies. now, we saw after 2008 and president obama's election, we saw 38 states, republicans in 38 states introduce some kind of legislation that would restrict voting rights. and now they've gotten even more sinister, and they're trying to change the way districts are drawn. and in this case, you know, a wonderful civil rights hero in virginia, a state senator, henry marsh went to the president's inauguration. and while he was gone on the martin luther king holiday, they voted without him. and that's the only way they got it passed. i just want to say we turned back a transvaginal ultrasound bill in virginia. there is bob mcconnell -- he is

very, very conservative, but he is sensitive to national pressure. so i think people just have to raise holy hell about what they did. it's just too ugly a bill to sign. >> bob, can virginia and michigan really make a difference in the next presidential? >> oh, absolutely. and look, what is going on here is a felonious assault on free elections. it's an attempt to gerrymander the presidency. if you think about it, you could argue that republicans have not won the presidency on the up and up since 1988. they stole 2000 when they stole florida with the complicity of the supreme court. >> right. >> in 2004, they engaged in massive voter suppression. people in ohio had to weight eight and ten hours to vote, and tens of thousands of them couldn't wait eight or ten hours. they tried it again in 2012 and they lost. they can't win the presidency. so what they want to do is institutionalize the system where the loser wins. this is a soviet style election.

>> sure. joan, what is the solution here? if they don't have the state legislatures, they'll have to get them back. that is the only thing that is going to stop this tidal wave. >> a few things can stop it. obviously turning things around in 2014 will help. i think the justice department does have some overnight. you know, section 5 of the voting rights act lets millennium review states where they've had a history of racial discrimination in voting patterns. so there is some recourse there, at least in terms of review. it's not clear exactly what they could do to change what has been done. and public opinion, just talking about this. reince priebus last seen, you and i had a conversation about him when he accused his own state of being a hotbed of voter fraud when wisconsin, an incredibly clean state when it comes to that. i think we just have to educate our voters as to what is happening and raise holy hell. >> so go win state houses now. that's what it is? >> we got to win if 2014. we have to win state houses and legislatures so a, this can't happen.

and b, if it does happen, we can turn it back. but in pennsylvania, republicans that discuss doing this before 2012, and there was a kind of wave of public revulsion about it. and i think there are also maybe some republicans with a conscience who wouldn't do this, who actually believe in democracy is, at least i hope there are. and number two, in terms of their own self-interest, some of these folks, if they do this, are going to see to it that an obama-like organization moves in, competes in their districts, competes against them whether they're in the state legislature, whether they're in congress. and that's not very good for them. but the most fundamental point here, and joan is absolutely right, this is a disaster for democracy. >> yeah. >> we've had enough blows at the credibility of our democracy in the last 12 or 15 years. >> no doubt. >> we don't need something like this. >> organizing for action. all of the sudden it's got a couple of missions they've got to complete i think, in michigan and also in virginia. joan walsh, bob shrum, great to have you with us. coming up, i'll tell you why a multimillionaire golfer phil

mickelson should think about hiring a new accountant. stay tuned. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

welcome back. we want you to join the conversation on facebook with "the ed show." many of you are talking about the news that singer beyonce lip-synched her performance of the national anthem at yesterday's inaugural ceremony. not a big deal who writes she did sing it, just not that day. nate says i'm sure the republicans are going to blame obama. marguerite garcia says she couldn't care less. thank god it was obama standing there and not that other guy. you can go to our facebook page right now and weigh in, and don't forget to like "the ed show" when you're there. still to come, "frontline" correspondent martin smith joins me to discuss the wall street untouchables, and why big bank ceos haven't been held accountable. nobody is in jail for the financial crisis. and i think a lot of lefties want to know why.

we're coming right back. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox. and it gives you the tools to create custom emails that drive business. it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today

at constantcontact.com/try.

and we are back. pro golfer phil mickelson has done it pretty good, wouldn't you say in 42-year-old guy made more than $67 million in career earnings since turning pro. last year he was ranked by forbes as the seventh highest paying athlete with $47.8 million in earnings. but apparently mickelson has it rough. he thinks he is getting shortchanged. speaking to reporters on sunday, mickelson said changes in the tax code have really got him rethinking his next move. he said if you add up all the federal, and you look at the disability and the social security and unemployment, and my tax rate is 62, 63%. so i have to make some decisions on what to do. the first thing i suggest, phil, you got to get maybe a new accountant, or at least give the one you have a pretty good phone call, because the most you lefty could pay is 60%. and that's if he does absolutely

no tax planning or basic deduction. it's estimated his tax rate should be closer to 50 or 52%. but let's say his estimate of 63% is correct. he would still take home 17 of the $47 million that he has earned last year, which to average americans is still pretty good pocket change. sounds like a good deal future a gig playing golf, don't you think? so if you're really paying 63%, thank you, phil mickelson, appreciate it. because your taxes pay for the public education system responsible for creating a working class successful enough to afford leisure time to watch your sport. your taxes pay for the roads and transportation, infrastructure that allows people to travel to see you play. and for the products you sponsor to be shipped around the world on those public highways. your taxes pay the first responders who protect your

fanny and your family. and that private overseas, you know, that guy in the military that wears the uniform, he makes about $18,000 a year to keep you and this country safe so you can go do what you do, phil. so phil, did you really build that? tonight in our survey, i asked you, is the united states a center-left country? 82% of you say yes. 18% of you say no. coming up, they got build a out. and you got sold out. wall street's shady banking practices trash the economy, yet nobody at a high level executive position is being held accountable. next, i'll talk with martin smith of "frontline" and find out what he learned, talking to mortgage industry whistle-blowers. stay tuned. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪

i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! >> with hotwire's low prices, i can afford to visit chicago for my first big race and l.a. for my best friend's wedding. because when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so i got my hotels for half-price! >> men: ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com kids, it's okay what we did. totally fine. wait. it's full of what? it's full of these gel beads, son. these awesome little blue gel beads. you bought a mattress full of gel? why? gel is cool.

cool equals gel. isn't it actually a fad? whatever. ♪ what, what [ vocalizing ] don't you guys have school? what's going on? [ male announcer ] only trust your sleep to tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. like gas station sushi. or super cheap car insurance. and then there are good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ]

esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. esurance. now backed by allstate. officemax can help you drive suand down.s down... use your maxperks card and get a 10-ream case of officemax multiuse paper for just 4.99 after maxperks rewards. find thousands of big deals now... at officemax. and in the big finish tonight, it's been over four years since we faced near economic collapse. the ripple effect is still being felt at kitchen tables across this country. and yet not one high level wall street executive has gone to jail. and no one is being held accountable for what led to america's financial meltdown. the pbs series "frontline" has a new documentary out investigating wall street's business practices. correspondent martin smith spoke with several mortgage industry

whistle-blowers, folks that were working as due diligence underwriters well before the housing bubble burst. they got paid to assess risk, and yet when they came across loan applications that should have set off alarms, their supervisors didn't want to hear about it. >> even if we suspected, we had to say this appears to be incorrect. you would never say this looks fraudulent. >> fraud in the due diligence world, fraud was the "f" word or the "f" bomb. you didn't use that word. >> even if a loan was clearly stated income that made no sense, there was no support. >> but you didn't use the word fraud. >> but it was fraud? you saw loans -- >> by your terms and my terms, yes, it was fraud. >> the obama justice department has vetted these shady banking practices and come up with nothing. >> what i do believe when we speak to the whistle-blowers, we have to make a determination whether what they say is really a criminal case. >> we're not able to show criminal intent sufficiently enough to obtain what we believe to obtain conviction.

>> i'm joined tonight by martin smith, producer and correspondent for "frontline's" "the untouchables" which premiers tonight 10:00 on most pbs stations and can be viewed at forward slash "frontline." due diligence underwriters told you it wasn't uncommon to see school teachers claiming salaries of $12,000 a month on their mortgage applications. yet some of these whistle-blowers say they've never been contacted by the justice department. why is that? >> that's a question for the justice department. and i want to add to your opening remarks, which is that no high level wall street ceo leader on wall street has gone and faced any jail time. no mid level executive on wall street. >> how did they get away with it? >> these -- first of all, i'll say that these are well lawyered transactions. but when you dig in to what the

due diligence underwriters who are hired by the banks to look into these loans and judge for the bank what's the quality is of the risk they're taking, over and over again as the bubble inflated, the number of defective loans rose from 50%, 60% and beyond. they reported this up the chain. they were told to loosen the standards in many cases. that's what they report to us. why this can't be pursued by the justice department, i can't answer. lanny breuer, chief of the criminal division says it's very difficult to do it. yet we were able to go out and find people that had not been contacted by the justice department. >> what is the most amazing story you got out of one of the un -- uncovering all of this in your documentary? >> i think that there is one of them talks about how they were instructed not to use the word "fraud."